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New Breathalyser Scheme to Prevent Drink Driving

The government has announced that they will be using new roadside breathalysers in order to increase the number of drink driving convictions by 6,000 each year. Currently, drivers are expected to take a breath test on the roadside, and, if positive, they will be arrested and will need to complete a further breath test back at the police station – known as the ‘evidential’ test. The test is the basis of any prosecution decision. Falling alcohol levels between the two tests can affect the drink driver’s results, sometimes making the reading negative. ‘Around 460,000 breath tests are taken per year. Almost 60,000 of these are positive.

Around 6,000 breath tests are positive at the roadside, but when back at the police station for the second test the result often changes to negative because of the time gap in between. The new scheme will replace old breathalysers with new and updated devices, targeting various people from lunchtime drinkers, to people who drank the night before and didn’t leave enough time for the alcohol to leave their system. The aim of the new devices is for a more accurate test result on the roadside – so the evidential test will not need the second test at the police station. The consequences of drink driving are very serious and can be life changing, resulting in driving disqualification, high financial fines, declined and affected insurance premiums and unemployment.

How Tuckers Solicitors can help you in relation to Drink Driving…

If you are looking for legal advice for a drink driving-related matter, please contact us on our usual contact details.